Modest is Hottest

A burqa is a traditional covering worn by some Islamic women in public settings. Not even the eyes can be seen that well because of the netted cloth that covers the eyes. The different colors of the burqa’s are significant to the area of Afghanistan the women live. The blue color, as shown, is for the area of Kabul. A white colored one is from the north, while, brown and green ones are from the south. The Islamic faith does not require a covering for women but Muslims believe they must remain modest in public just as Muhammad did. However, due to the fear terrorism coverings, such as, the burqa, are being banned. The whole country of Switzerland has banned them from public places as a mean of “public safety.” Others are calling it discrimination.

[Public Domain] via Wikimedia Commons by Davric

In the novel The Kite Runner Amir and Baba escape from Afghanistan because of the conflicts with the soviets, however, when Amir must return to Afghanistan the soviets are gone but there are still conflicts with the Taliban. The Taliban did not just make life horrible, they also forced religion on to people. All women were forced to wear burqa’s no matter how they felt about them. This is important information in understanding the text because it just adds to the horribleness of the Taliban. I chose this topic to research because I was curious to understand the reasons for wearing coverings and the differences between a burqa and a traditional head covering. Another interesting aspect that only peaked my interest was the fact that they are being banned in some countries around the world. It’s up to each person to decide of it’s discrimination or a preventative measure.

Works Cited:

“Burqa.” Wikipedia. N.p.: Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Apr. 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

Newton, Jennifer. “Women Wearing a Burqa Will Be Fined £6, 500 in Swiss Region.” Daily Mail 25 Nov. 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

Espand

Peganum harmala, also known espand or isfand, are seeds used the Middle East for getting rid of the evil eye. The seeds originate from a flower with various colors that only reach a couple inches off of the ground. The seeds are placed in a pan with red, hot charcoal and begin to pop like popcorn. The smoked is wafted over the victims head while prayers are said. This tradition is often practiced by Christians, Muslims, and even Jews.

I chose this topic because I read it and I didn’t know what this was. It is cool to see what other cultures practice and it is important for us to understand them.

Muslim Funeral Traditions

Like most religions, Islam demands certain traditions for burying their dead. Before death, the soon to be deceased is encouraged to recite the “shahada”, a prayer confirming that Allah is the only God. Family and close friends of the dying person are to be with them until the die, at which point they are to say: “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un” meaning “Verily we belong to Allah, and truly to Him shall we return”. Then they close the eyes and mouth of the dead, cover the body with a clean sheet, and give supplication to Allah. The body must be buried as quickly as possible, so funeral plans must be made immediately. That also means that embalming is not typically allowed and most communities prohibit moving the body to another country to be buried. Cremation is also prohibited and autopsies are seen as a desecration of the body, however organ donation is allowed as it follows the teaching “Whosoever saves the life of one person it would be as if he saved the life of all mankind”. To prepare for the funeral, the body is washed at least three times and wrapped with three sheets.  Once the sheets are secured to the body with ropes, it is transported to a Mosque for funeral prayers. The funeral prayers are not actually performed inside the Mosque but in the courtyard, a prayer room, or study room at the mosque. Because of the urgency to bury the body as soon as possible, there is no pre-funeral viewing of the body. After prayers, the body is immediately taken to the cemetery to be buried. In most communities, only men are allowed to attend this part of the funeral. The body is lowered into the grave, facing perpendicular to Mecca, with a prayer and each mourner in attendance places three handfuls of dirt into the grave. A headstone may be placed to mark the grave, however it may not be anything large or to elaborately decorated.

I chose to research this topic because in The Kite Runner, it caught my interest how at Baba’s funeral, Amir had to go to a different location to talk to his wife. I was curious to learn how funerals of the Islamic faith were different than a Christian funeral or I suppose, an average American funeral. This information helps me to understand just a little bit more about the Islamic faith and it’s values.

Works Cited

“Muslim Funeral Traditions.” Everplans. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

Soviet-Afghan War

The Soviet–Afghan War lasted over nine years from December 1979 to February 1989. Insurgent groups aka “the Mujahideen” fought against the Soviet Army and allied Afghan forces. Between 850,000–1.5 million civilians were killed  and millions of Afghans fled the country as refugees, mostly to Pakistan and Iran. After King Mohammad Shah was deposed by his cousin Daoud Khan and Khan was then assassinated shortly after by his own military, President Taraki took over, then assassinated by Hafizullah Amin. Amin was shortly killed in a Coup immediately before the Russian invasion. This intense power struggle caused more death and destruction due to the execution of political prisoners as well as rebellion led by the Mujahideen and Taliban. At the time the Mujahideen and Taliban were highly sympathized and only became known as terrorists after the violation of humanitarian laws, however both fight for religious reasons.

 

 

Dress Code

Many different countries have their own traditional attire. Afghanistan is one of them. Traditional Afghan clothing is typically made of cotton, wool, and, for the wealthy, silk. Women typically wear long dresses and headwear, almost completely covering them up. In extremely strict areas, women sometimes even have to cover their faces with veils. Their dresses are often made with vibrant colors and elaborate embroidery. Men’s clothing, on the other hand, is much simpler. Afghan men traditionally wear a type of robe and pants underneath. In addition, men wear some sort of headgear, often a pakol cap or a turban.

I chose this topic because Hosseini’s descriptions of the clothing in The Kite Runner made me curious about what the clothing actually looks like. This information helps me to understand what the characters wear, allowing me to more accurately visualize the scenes within the story.

“Traditional dress of Afghanistan.” The Lovely Planet. 31 Aug. 2012. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

ResoluteSupportMedia. “20091208-M-2934T-1443.” Flickr. 8 Dec. 2009. Digital Image. 21 Apr. 2016. 

Yogurt Dogh

Lam, Jason. Doogh salty yogurt drink . 16 September 2009. Flickr. Flickr. Web. 21 April 2016.

Jason Lam

Dogh is an yogurt based drink that’s very common in Afghanistan, Iran and other middle east countries. Its mainly served on hot summer days with or after lunch. Always served cold, having nice crisp taste, makes the drink refreshing for all dairy lovers. Also, contains salt or pepper, shaved cucumber, and ground dried mint. Furthermore, for all you crazy healthy people it provides a good source of probiotic “good bacteria” that helps both the immune and digestive system.

The main reason I researched this topic is to know what kind of drink is it. With the research I’ve found turns out to be one of the many healthiest drinks around the world. Also, it may not have hardly have any contribution to Kite Runner for it is a simple foreign drink. Maybe the author was hoping that someone (like me) would research into this and find out all the benefits to the human body.

 

 

 

 

Works Citied

rebekahgraham. “Food of the Middle East: Dogh (Afghan Yogurt Drink).” emuweavinglife.wordpress. n.p. Web. 21 April 2016.

Food of the Middle East: Dogh (Afghan Yogurt Drink)

 

Taliban

The Taliban were a religious group of men who controlled Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001. They believed in very strict rules, one of their most famous being the rule that outlawed women from attending school and working. Furthermore, kite-flying, television, music, and the internet were banned. Men were forced to wear beards and beaten if they disobeyed. When in public, women were required to completely cover their bodies and walk with a male relative. Beatings of people who disobeyed the laws often took place in soccer stadiums, the only sport not banned by the Taliban. Eventually, the United States was able to free Afghanistan from Taliban influence in 2001.

I chose this topic because I wanted to learn more about the Taliban. When I was a child, I often heard things about the Taliban, but I never really knew who they were. I think it is beneficial for everyone to learn about the Taliban because they play a large role in modern history.

Work Cited:

Hayes, Laura, Beth Rowen, and Borgna Brunner. “Who Are the Taliban?”Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

Newsonline. Taliban. Digital image. Flickr. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

Shorwa

Auzrah. “Shorwa.” Wikimedia Commons. 16 Jan. 2014. Digital Image. 20 Apr. 2016. 

Shorwa is a traditional Afghan soup. The word “shorwa” is Pashto for “soup”. The dish incorporates potatoes and other vegetables, and often has beans and a type of meat (Wikipedia). However, there is also a vegetarian version of shorwa (Shorwa-E-Piawa). It can take anywhere from 45 minutes (Shorwa-E-Piawa) to over 2 hours (Shorwa-E-Tarkari) to prepare this type of soup. No matter how the shorwa is prepared, it is always serve with or over fresh naan (Shorwa-E-Takari).

I chose to research shorwa because I was unfamiliar with the word when I came across it. In The Kite Runner, this is the meal that Farzana, Hassan’s wife, prepares for Rahim Khan when he goes to visit them (206). They ate the soup with fresh naan, as I found in my research. However, in the description of the shorwa, there is no mention of meat, as there usually is in this soup. This is most likely due to the prices of meat rising after the Taliban took control. It was interesting to learn about this traditional dish from another country.

Works Cited

Nash. “Shorwa-E-Piawa (Potato Soup) | Afghan Kitchen Recipes.” Shorwa-E-Piawa (Potato Soup) | Afghan Kitchen Recipes. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

Nash. “Shorwa-E-Tarkari (Meat & Veg Soup) | Afghan Kitchen Recipes.”Shorwa-E-Tarkari (Meat & Veg Soup) | Afghan Kitchen Recipes. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

“Shorwa.” – Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

Tandoor

Chapters 14-20: Tandoor

Collins, Erin. “Chapati!” Flickr. 24 February 2007. Digital Image. 20 April 2016.

Tandoor refers to a variety of ovens, the most common is made of clay and used for baking and cooking. (Tandoor). “They can be large, permanent structures ensconced in a kitchen or outdoor area, or they can be smaller, portable ovens that can be carried from place to place.” (Christensen). The heat for a tandoor is commonly generated by a charcoal fire or wood fire, burning inside of the Tandoor, giving the food an original smoky taste. (Administrator). “The tandoor is used for cooking in Southern, Central, and Western Asia.” (Tandoor). The most famous and widely made dish produced from a Tandoor is known as Tandoori, which is a chicken prepared with spices and yogurt. (Sanghvi and Food). Tandoori usually takes around a day to prepare since it has to marinate in it’s respective spices and yogurt. (Recipe).

I chose to research this topic because the word caught my eye and is used multiple times on page 205 in The Kite Runner and when I found out it was involved with food, I had to research more. I found this topic worthy of investigation because in the novel it never states exactly what a tandoor is and finding out that they are ovens of a sort, it connects to all the food mentioned in the book. Mentioned in the book, Hassan as a grown man is seen cooking in a Tandoor outside, which startled me because I was not aware they were outside cooking appliances but I soon found out that their involvement with fire, and I found it interesting that people cook in them.

The Evil Empire

In The Kite Runner, Baba believes that the Shorawi are horrible. They invaded Afghanistan, and that’s why Baba and Amir left for America. The Shorawi is actually a name for the Russians. During the winter season of 1979 the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. It became a mess to live in Afghanistan, there was always gunfire and attacks going on. It was no longer a safe place to live. The Russians didn’t leave Afghanistan until 1994. Many of the Afghans had a sour taste for the Russians after that. Even long after Baba and Amir had left for America Baba still felt negatively towards the Russians. Ronald Reagan called the Russians “the Evil Empire” so Baba hung up a picture of him in the house. 

w:en:Creative Commons attribution share alike This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

Naturally I was curious of a word I didn’t know. I decided to research the word Shorawi, especially since it was described as “the Evil Empire.” I am glad I decided to research this word. It helped me understand more about what was happening in the book, and I learned some things I never would have known without researching this word. This is helpful knowledge if you are interested in history, or if you just like learning new things. It’s always important to learn about history, and you never know when it may come up in a conversation.
“Russia and Afghanistan.” Institute for the Study of War. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.